GFT CONTINUES TO PROPOSE SY15-16 CALENDAR CHANGE

Since the revision of the School Year 2015-2016 Calendar was approved in July 2015, Tim Fedenko, GFT President, has expressed concern as GFT's input was not included. Fedenko agreed to a revision of the Calendar to support FESTPAC. However, banking time would be problematic. The revised Calendar added seven more Professional Development days and twenty-eight more minutes in a day for Elementary schools, which was not agreed on by GFT. Fedenko requested for a meeting last August with the stakeholders to address the issue. Chairman of the Guam Education Board at the time, Peter Alecxis Ada, assured they would address this in March of 2016.

After several Calendar Committee meetings in the past few months, Fedenko continued to dispute the additional days and minutes that teachers are required to work. Only twelve additional minutes in a school day are needed to fulfill the required "180 days or equivalence" set in law for Elementary schools, which would fall on May 10, 2016. A teacher work day would follow on May 11th. Middle and High schools would have fulfilled the required Carnegie units that the secondary grade levels follow.

Fedenko supports high quality Professional Development days; however teachers would have attended and fulfilled their obligation to this as set in previous calendars. It is now March, when the Board agreed to address the issue. Fedenko sent a letter to the Board with an official position from GFT and a proposal to fix the Calendar. Many teachers and families of teachers have expressed interest in attending the historic event of FESTPAC. GFT's recommendation would allow teachers and their families to attend the event as well as provide more time for the hosting schools to prepare for our guests. Fedenko concludes in the letter that the "morale of Teachers in our system seem to be sinking. This will show our Teachers great appreciation and respect for the Professionals as they are which I know is the intent of the Board." View letter here